HARLEY V-ROD SWEEPS SONOMA DRAGS
HARLEY V-ROD SWEEPS SONOMA DRAGS
Series Leader Ed Krawiec Wins NHRA Second Event in a Row and Pro Bike Battle
SONOMA, Calif. (August 2, 2015) – Harley-Davidson® Screamin’ Eagle®/Vance & Hines rider Ed Krawiec swept the Pro Stock Motorcycle field at the NHRA Nationals at Sonoma Raceway. Racing a Harley-Davidson® V-Rod® motorcycle, Krawiec was the number-one qualifier, won the Pro Bike Battle special event on Saturday, and then capped Sunday eliminations with his second-consecutive final-round victory. Krawiec leads the NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle series by 106 points.
“We’ve known all season what potential the Harley V-Rods have,” said Krawiec, “we just needed to find the right performance mix. We are going to keep working and testing to make what we’ve got even better. There are two races left before the Countdown starts and we want to be ready to run for the title.”
After eight of 16 events Krawiec leads the Pro Stock Motorcycle field with 702 points. Hector Arana Jr. is second with 596 points, followed by Harley-Davidson® Screamin’ Eagle®/Vance & Hines rider Andrew Hines with 546 points, Karen Stoffer with 468 points and Jim Underdahl with 459 points.
Krawiec, the defending Sonoma champion, topped Pro Stock Motorcycle qualifying with a best Elapsed Time of 6.787 seconds. Hines, the defending NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle champion, qualified the team’s other V-Rod motorcycle in second position with an ET of 6.837 seconds.
On Saturday, Krawiec won an all-Harley final in the NHRA Pro Bike Battle when Hines fouled at the start. The Pro Bike Battle is a special event conducted during qualifying rounds at Sonoma and open to the top-eight qualifying performers from the previous season. Hines defeated Hector Arana and Hector Arana Jr. to reach the final, while Krawiec advanced with wins over Scotty Pollacheck and Jerry Savoie.
“We started with this power combination on the V-Rods in Denver and now after Sonoma, we’ve got some valuable data from a sea-level track,” said Hines. “We are preparing for the next race at Brainerd and then will head into the U.S. Nationals and the Countdown with some momentum.”
Krawiec defeated Angie Smith, Steve Johnson and Pollacheck to reach a final-round match with Savoie. Krawiec posted an ET of 6.881 seconds to better the 6.891 second-run of Savoie, a margin of victory of about 14 inches. Krawiec now has two victories in five final-round appearances this season and has 29 final-round wins in his career.
The Harley-Davidson Screamin’ Eagle/Vance & Hines drag team will be back in action Aug. 20-23 at the 34th Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals at Brainerd International Raceway in Minnesota.
About Harley-Davidson Motor Company
Harley-Davidson Motor Company produces custom, cruiser and touring motorcycles and offers a complete line of Harley-Davidson® motorcycle parts, accessories, riding gear and apparel, and general merchandise. For more information, visit Harley-Davidson’s website at www.h-d.com.